1) The past 30 days of rain, wind, cold, holidays and shorter days have kept me, and most of you, from visiting Tandy Hills Natural Area. I don't know about you but I'm getting cranky, and a few pounds heavier. Winter Solstice doesn't arrive until December 21st, but wintry weather is already here. I miss my daily dose of prairie but the cozy warmth of the "in of doors" is a hard spell to break in bleak December.

But that's OK. The prairies and woodlands will still be there when we again desire their special pleasures. Right? Not always, as you will read in some postings below. "Eternal Vigilance", is more than a cliche'. It is Rule #1 of the the Nature Lovers & Defenders Creed, or it should be.

My personal guru and fellow cranky guy, Edward Abbey, wrote extensively on this topic. Answering his own question about why we need wilderness he wrote:

"We need wilderness whether or not we ever set foot in it. We need a refuge even though we may never need to go there. We need the possibility of escape as surely as we need hope; without it, life in the city would drive all men (and women) into crime, drugs or psychoanalysis."
--Desert Solitaire (1968)

Ed Abbey

Tandy Hills and other, similar urban green spaces, may not qualify as "true wilderness". They don't have large mammals that can eat us, but they're a close enough approximation and are vitally important, especially in big cities. We need them to be there even if we are not. Accessible wilderness and green space are fundamental elements of civilization and healthy, livable cities. Manicured parks are OK but not enough. Abbey again:

"Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit."
--Down the River (1982)

Despite what I know to be true about threats to the natural world, I make a Herculean effort to keep these here Prairie Notes uplifting and inspirational. This time around, however, in the interest of your education, my crankiness got the better of me. Several special places are endangered and need your attention. Please skip #2 - 4 if you prefer to read only lighthearted reports.

3) A good local example of what can happen without "Eternal Vigilance" can be found at the Stella Rowan Prairie in south Fort Worth. Because of its unusual location next to a highway and a former state school few people know it exists. This 70 acre - never plowed - prairie has the same rich variety of plants and wildlife as Tandy Hills but has been severely compromised by gas drilling and subsequent pipeline operations. Years ago, the Rowan family donated the property to the state stipulating it as a wilderness area. The current managers of the property have ignored the stipulation and plan to further develop the property. I'll keep you posted.

Read more about Stella Rowan on page 2 - 3 of this NPSOT newsletter from 2008:

Still Life: A portrait of Stella Rowan Prairie Clear-cut, denuded and strewn with fracking water pipes.

4) Prairie Dogs, one of the most adorable yet maligned of prairie wildlife recently lost federal protection. Already devastated by habitat loss and plague, this new ruling does not bode well for these creatures. Adding insult to injury, the EPA recently approved the poison Rozol that had previously been banned for use on prairie dogs. Rozol also kills other unsuspecting wildlife, including eagles, causing incredible suffering before death. Learn more about this tragedy from the Wild Earth Guardians website:

5)"What a thousand acres of Compass Plant looked like when they tickled the bellies of buffalo is a question never again to be answered, and perhaps not even asked."
--Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac

The strange and amazing Compass Plant (Silphium lacinatum) a fairly common sight at THNA but buried under pavement and development just about everyplace else, is the subject of the profile at the Human Flower Project website. Mr. Leopold did not anticipate the interest in Compass Plant by the Prairie Keepers of THNA. Dr. Bruce Benz of Texas Wesleyan University, is in the midst of a study of Rosinweed (Silphium albiflorum), a close relative of Compass Plant, at THNA. More on that, later.

6) An enterprising fellow named, John Maske, has compiled an atlas of native grasslands in the US and Canada. His website includes links to all of them including Tandy Hills. Previously, the THNA listing linked to a boring City of FW website but now goes to the FOTHNA website. Check out the excellent introduction and the amazing number of web-links. "The sheer number of of these links represents a compelling story in conservation and volunteerism."

8) One of the most frustrating challenges in efforts to preserve a healthy environment is getting faith institutions involved. Bee Moorehead, executive director of, Texas Impact and Texas Interfaith Power & Light has been a trailblazer in this movement. Those groups are devoted to deepening the connection between ecology and faith. Bee was recently interviewed by Forrest Wilder in the Texas Observer.

9) Nothing is more fundamental to preserving the natural world than getting young people connected to it. The National Wildlife Federation recently unveiled an important initiative to help engage educators, healthcare practitioners, policy makers and the media in persuading kids to spend more time outdoors. Be Out There is an excellent program and an interesting website that I consider essential reading.

10) A friend sent me a list of films on tallgrass prairies that show modern conservation methods for our most endangered ecosystem. I have included links to excerpts of them on YouTube:

Where the Sky Began

Last Stand of the Tallgrass Prairie (intro by Lyle Lovett):

America's Lost Landscape, the Tallgrass Prairie:

The late, late Fall show at THNA.

11) Prairie Fest 2009 will be remembered for two reasons: #1) It was a huge success and, #2) the WIND. Forty-plus mph wind gusts played havoc with vendors and kept fest organizers on edge. The wind also made life difficult for FW artist, Elaine Taylor, who designed a site-specific work for Prairie Fest. By noon parts of the sculpture had either collapsed or were removed. In case you missed it, you can view some photos of the sculpture before the wind altered it at Elaine's website:

"Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, and as vital to our lives as water and good bread. A civilization which destroys what little remains of the wild, the spare, the original, is cutting itself off from its origins and betraying the principle of civilization itself."